title: Ultrasound of the sural nerve: normal anatomy on cadaveric dissection and case series.
abstract: The sural nerve is a small sensory nerve innervating the lateral aspect of the ankle and foot. Clinical symptoms of pathology may present as atypical sensory changes in this region. We present the normal anatomy and ultrasound technique for examination of the sural nerve based on an anatomical dissection, as well as imaging in a normal volunteer. We also present a case series (n=10) of different conditions of the sural nerve that we encountered based on a review of interesting cases from 4 institutions. The pathological conditions included neuropathy related to stripping or venous laser surgery, compression by abscess, Lyme disease, nerve tumors, traumatic transsection, and encasement by fibrous plaque and edema. Ultrasound with its exquisite resolution is the preferred imaging method for examining the sural nerve in patients with unexplained sensory changes at the lateral aspect of the ankle and foot.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, UZ Brussel, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Jette, Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: dries.belsack@uzbrussel.be.
authors.forename: Dries
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Belsack
authors.forename: Tjeerd
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jager
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Scafoglieri
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vanderdood
authors.forename: Eddy
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Hedent
authors.forename: Filip
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vanhoenacker
authors.forename: Stefaan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marcelis
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Maeseneer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002102:Cadaver; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004210:Dissection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands; D059348:Peripheral Nerve Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013497:Sural Nerve / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000293:injuries*; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Lyme disease; Nerve pathology; Sural nerve; Ultrasound; Venous stripping